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Philip Downing
In 1891, anyone interested in mailing a letter would have to make the long trip to the post office. Philip B. Downing designed a metal box with four legs which he patented on October 27, 1891. He called his device a street letter box and it is the predecessor of
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Source: Black History Resources
Oct
27
1891
Ralph Ellison
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in the year 1914, Ralph Ellison was a celebrated National Book Award winner for his novel “Invisible Man”. He was awarded this this title in the year 1953. Even though he was best known for this novel, that is not all Ralph Ellison was. Ralph
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Eastern Bank
Apr
16
1994
Jump Start premieres in 40 newspapers in the U.S. It is created by 26 year old R
Jump Start premieres in 40 newspapers in the U.S. It is created by 26 year old Robb Armstrong, the youngest African American to have a syndicated comic strip. He follows in the footsteps of Morrie Turner, the creator of Wee Pals, the first African American syndicated comic strip.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by NSBE Boston
Oct
2
1989
Warren Moon
Warren Moon is a retired football player, who played for the Canadian and American football leagues. He was born in Los Angeles, California on November 18, 1956 and was the only brother of 6 sisters. His father was a laborer who died of liver disease when Warren was a young child and his mother was
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by Illinois Math and Science Academy
Nov
18
1956
Miller, Thomas E. (1849-1938)
Politician and educator, Thomas E. Miller was born in Ferrebeeville, Beaufort County, South Carolina on June 17, 1849.  Miller was the son of free black parents, and moved with them to Charleston, South Carolina in 1851 where he attended the all-black schools in the city.  After the Civil
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Source: Black Past
Apr
8
1938
Dating Harriet Jacobs: Why Birthdates Matter to Historians
In the article that follows British Columbian historian and documentary editor, Mary Maillard, explores the controversy surrounding the precise birthdate of slave narrative author, Harriet Jacobs, and reminds us why precision
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Top 10 Most Famous Black Actors of All Time
Hollywood is a giant industry which provides work to hundreds of actors. At the advent of this industry only white actors ruled the silver screen and the blacks were given only minor roles. As the time progressed, blacks were given the voice in the society and eventually allowed white collar
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Source: Black History Resources
Bentley, Gladys (1907-1960)
Gladys Bentley (stage name, Bobbie Minton) was a Harlem Renaissance blues singer and cross dresser.  She was one of the most well-known and financially successful black women in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. She was a pioneer in pushing the envelope of gender, sexuality, class, and race
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative
Aug
12
1907
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson's professional debut
Jackie Roosevelt Robinson made his professional debut as a member of the Montreal Royals in the
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
17
1946
Boutelle, Frazier Augustus (1840-1924)
FrazierAugustus Boutelle, army officer and conservationist, was born onSeptember 12, 1840 in Troy, New York.  No significant informationexists regarding his childhood, though it is known that his fatherJames Augustus Boutelle of Fitchburg, Massachusetts was a descendent ofRevolutionary War soldier
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Source: Black Past
Henry L. (Hank) Aaron
Hank Aaron hit his first home run off pitcher Vic Raschi of the St. Loius Cardinals on April 23, 1954, his first year in the big leagues. It siganled the beginning of what has become Aarons duel with a legend. Aaron finished his 19th season with 673 home runs and stands just 41 short of the record
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
23
1954
Liberia
Lying on the Atlantic in the southern part of West Africa, Liberia is bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Côte dIvoire. It is comparable in size to Tennessee. Most of the country is a plateau covered by dense tropical forests, which thrive under an annual rainfall of about 160
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Museum of African American History in Massachusetts
Apr
12
1980
Flip Wilson Honored
Comedian and television star Flip Wilson received the International Broadcasting Man of the Year Award. Flip Wilson was the first Afro-American to be a television superstar.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
11
1959
Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds belongs to a family with a history of playing baseball, it can be convincingly said that baseball runs in his family. He was born on July 24, 1964, in Riverside, California. He was born to Pat and Bobby. Bobby was a high-school baseball star, he chose baseball over football. He played
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Source: Black History Resources
The American Nicodemus Town Company is founded
The American Nicodemus Town Company is founded by six African American settlers in northwestern Kansas. The town will be settled later in the year.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Sponsored by APEX Museum
Apr
18
1877
Namibia gains independence
The History of NamibiaThe country has ever since that historical day; 21 March 1990 enjoyed peace, stability and progress in many ways. Namibia is also known as the smile of Africa because, of its geographical position and the friendliness and warmth of its citizens. Currently the country has
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Mar
21
1990
Ashley, Maurice (1966- )
Maurice Ashley, the first African American chess grandmaster, was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica on March 6, 1966. At age 12, his family moved to Brooklyn, New York, where Ashley began to develop an interest in chess. Although he spent several hours a day playing and studying the game, he did not play
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Source: Black Past
Mar
6
1966
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
In 1943, Dr. Frederick D. Patterson, president of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), wrote an open letter in the Pittsburgh Courier to the presidents of our nation’s private black colleges urging them to pool their small monies and make a united appeal to the national conscience. His
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
25
1944
Richard Allen named 1st Bishop of AME church
By 1816 there were several African Methodist Churches around the country and that year they met to form the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church. On April 11, 1816 Richard Allen was name the first bishop of this church.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
Apr
11
1816
Kelly, Samuel Eugene (1926-2009)
Samuel Eugene Kelly, soldier and educator, was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on January 26, 1926 to James Handy Kelly, a minister, and Essie Matilda Allen-Kelly, a homemaker.  Educated at Greenwich public schools, Kelly dropped out of high school in 1943 and joined the United States Army the
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Source: Black Past
Jan
26
1926
Wilkens, Lenny (1937- )
Leonard Randolph Wilkens was born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 28, 1937, son of an African American father and white mother. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section, one of the toughest sections in the city, where he endured many hardships, including the loss of his father at a young
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Source: Black Past
(1957) Roy Wilkins, “The Clock Will Not Be Turned Back”
In 1957 Roy Wilkins, Executive Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was next to Rev. Martin Luther King, the most recognized civil rights leader in the nation.  In October of that year he addressed the Commonwealth Club of California five weeks after
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAP) Boston Chapter
Laurent Kabilia becomes new President of Zaire and renames itthe Democratic Re
Laurent Kabilia becomes new President of Zaire and renames it the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The country was previously under the 37 year rule of Dictator Mobutu SeSE sEKO. cONGO HAS DEMOCRACY.
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Source: Blackfacts.com
May
17
1997
Laverne Cox
Though some sources report Laverne Cox’s year of birth as 1984, Who2 research suggests the actual year is 1972, or very close to it. Her birthday of May 29 was reported by Playbill in 2014… Laverne Cox’s twin brother is the avant-garde artist and musician M. Lamar. He played her as a pre-transition
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Source: Fact Monster - Black History
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Fikes, Robert
Robert Fikes, Jr., a 1970 graduate of Tuskegee Institute, earnedgraduate degrees in modern European history and library science at theUniversity of Minnesota. A reference librarian at San Diego StateUniversity where he is also subject bibliographer for Africana Studiesand for American, Middle
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Source: Black Past
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston was an American author and anthropologist of the 19th century. She was born on January 7, 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama. Her parents John and Lucy Ann Hurston were former slaves. John Hurston was a pastor and he moved his family to Florida when Zora was still a young child. He
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Source: Black History Resources
Sponsored by National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) Boston Metropolitan Chapter
Jan
7
1891
Price, Mary Violet Leontyne (1927- )
Born to James and Kate Price on February 10, 1927, in Laurel, Mississippi, Leontyne Price became one of the world’s leading opera sopranos and among the first African Americans to gain prominence in major performance halls in that musical genre. Her parents were amateur musicians and instilled in
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Source: Black Past
Sponsored by Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association (MBLA)
Feb
10
1927
Meredith Gourdine
Meredith Charles “Flash” Gourdine was born on September 26, 1929 in Newark, New Jersey. His father worked as a painter and janitor and instilled within his son the importance of a strong work ethic. Meredith attended Brooklyn Technical High School and after classes he helped his father
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Source: Black History Resources
Nov
26
2012
Wiggins, Thomas “Blind Tom” (1849-1908)
Thomas Greene Wiggins was born May 25, 1849 to Mungo and Charity Wiggins, slaves on a Georgia plantation. He was blind and autistic but a musical genius with a phenomenal memory. In 1850 Tom, his parents, and two brothers were sold to James Neil Bethune, a lawyer and newspaper editor in
Read more
Source: Black Past
Jun
13
1908
About Us
BlackPast.org, an online reference center makes availablea wealth of materials on African American history in one centrallocation on the Internet. These materials include an onlineencyclopedia of over 4,000 entries, the complete transcript of more than 300speeches by African Americans, other people
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Source: Black Past
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